Nepal urges India to restore oil and gas supply

Nepal is pushing India to restore oil and gas supply to the country that was disrupted five months ago due to local protests along the border in southern Nepal.Rachita Prasad | ET Bureau | February 08, 2016, 08:05 IST

MUMBAI: Nepal is pushing India to restore oil and gas supply to the country that was disrupted five months ago due to local protests along the border in southern Nepal. “We are completely dependent on India for fuel and the disruption in supply for the last 4-5 months has made life very difficult. Now there is no resistance at the checkpoints and the supply should resume,” Nepal’s ambassador to India Deep Kumar Upadhyay toldET.

For the last 40 years, state-run Indian Oil Corporation has been supplying petroleum products, diesel and kerosene to Nepal at Indian rates. The supply was disrupted when the Madhesi people inhabiting southern Nepal agitated against the country’s new constitution. India has allowed 26 trading point for supply of fuel from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to Nepal Oil Corporation but the Madhesi blockade at many of these checkpoints — including the Birgunj-Raxaul trading point through which about 60% of the total bilateral trade passes — disrupted supplies.

Citing security reasons, Indian trucks stopped carrying fuel to Nepal, which led to shortage offuel and stirred anti-India sentiments in the country. India has expressed its displeasure on Nepal not involving its people in its decision to adopt the new constitution.

But India has denied any role in the protests in the country as alleged by the Nepal government. The Madhesi blockade ended on Friday. “IOC should honour the contract and facilitate supply of fuel as per the current need. We have spoken to the oil minister in India and he seems positive. This will be on top of the agenda when our finance minister and Prime Minister visit India,” Upadhyay said. He said the Birgunj-Raxaul border would become fully operational soon.

At the time when India snapped the supplies and the tension between the two countries were rising, Nepal signed an agreement with China in October for fuel supply. “India is our old partner. We still depend on India for fuel. It is not in ours or India’s favour to disrupt the fuel supply,” Upadhyay.

Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli is slated to visit India this month in his first foreign trip after taking the post last October. Media reports from Nepal, however, suggest that Oli would be visiting China before he comes to India.